Cover for refrigerating cabinets



Pll v16, 19429 -l.. G. RATTERMAN 1,709,486

COVER FOR REFRIGRATING CABINETS Filed Nov. 25, 1927 Patented Apr. 16, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT A'orFlexi.

Leurs G. RATrERMAmoF `sfr'. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

i oovnn ron REFRIGERATING CABINE'rs.

application inea November `25, 1927. serial No; 235,616.

can. Thisis very undesirable in properly handling and dishing out of ice cream stored and maintained in this manner. My cover is designed tov eliminate these undesirable features in a practical and economical manner.`

My invention includes a cover' made in a manner to'form a hollowreceptacle or being provided with a chamber therein which is adapted to Vcontain a moisture absorbing substance. The substance to be contained within the cover, is of such a nature as to be ca# pable of absorbing many times its own volume of moisture and also permitting a` limited circulation through the cover. The cover is of such a construction as to have a screened or perforated bottom portion and top portion having perforations therein, while a cap is provided at the upper portion of thepcover which permits the moisture absorbing substance to be renewed from time to time as may be desired.4

lar formationv and arrangement of the parts will be more clearly and fully hereinafter set forth. Y

In the ldrawings forming fieation: f y

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of my cover in use on a refrigerator cabinet.

part of my speci- My cover may be formed of any suitablev Figure 2 isy a cross sectional-view'of the same, only a detail portion of the ice cream.

refrigerator cabinet being illustrated.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of my cover.

Figure 1 illustrates the capof the cover removed'and partially broken away.

My cover A is of a simple formation havf ing frustreconical body portion 10 from which depends an annular flange 11. The flange 11 connects with a cylindrical downwardly projecting portionf12 across which 1 yextends a straight bottom vportion 13.

l rlhe cover A is formed of a -hollow nature in a manner to provide an. inner chamber 14 and the cylindrical portion12 is adapted to provide a recess into which moisture absorbing material 15 may be placed extending across the bottom 13. TheV moisture absorbing substancewlmay 'be of any suitable nature, howevenit is preferred'that a substance vhavingfloose particles be used and also of a nature to absorb moisture many "times the volume of the substance 15. l

The major portion of the bottom'l?) is. of a formation either of fine meshscreenorvery line perfor-ations such as16., This-permits the atmosphere which' comes in contact with the bottom lf1?) to penetrate the openings 16 and Contact withr the moisture absorbing substance 15. f The frustro-conical body portion 1() extends tothetop rim 18 and a suitable cap 19 is'adapted to fit vover the cylindrical rim. 18 either by screwing the same thereto or frictionally' attaching the capto the top.

This cap A may be made of a composition material impervious Ato moisture or of a sheet material lof. any suitablev nature. V In fact, the whole cover may be made of a nonmetal- `lic material which is such a nature as to be impervious to moisture.

The upper portionof the frustrofconical body 10 is forniied with a large number of per` forations 2O which are sufficientlyr large to permit 'the circulation of air therethrough quite readily and thus any moistureabsorbed in tothe substance 15 may be readily absorbed vby the outer atmosphere,thereby` providingl a Ventilating cover means A which is particularly adapted to ice cream refrigerator cab- DeVtSI-r y. l

"In use my cover' A is adapted to lit int-o the rabbeted opening 22 of the'top 2S of the ice i cream cabinet B. The flange 11 engages in the recess 2A of the opening 22 and has its inner surface 25 of the same extending upwardly from the outer sharp edge 26 of the flange 11; This provides a peculiar formationv to the fia-nge 11 which causes the flange to fit tightly within the rabbeted opening k22 and forms an annular dead air space 27 about the upper part of the cylindrical portion 12, the lower part of the cylindrical portion 12 fitting quite closely in the lower part 28 of the opening 22. The refrigerator cabinet B is, of the type which is used at soda fountains,

and places of a similar nature where refreshments are served and ice cream cans() are maintained with ice packed about the same, or where electrical refrigeration is provided in the cabinet B about the ice cream cans C, only a portion of the ice cream can C being shown in the drawings.

The ice cream cans C are placed'in the refrigerator cabinetB and usually these cabinets have several of the ice cream cans therein spaced quite closely together, and each-can C is provided with a cover in the opening These lcovers, are ordinarily of wood or other y similar material and for this wooden cover sorbing means is provided therein and an indirect circulation is also provided from within the cabinet to the outer atmosphere, it will be readily apparent that I provide a means of overcoming an undersirable feature which has been quite apparent heretofore in cabiv nets of this nature. I have found that with my cover ice cream may be maintained within the can C in a much better condition, and

Y the temperature may be more evenly maintained within the cabinet B, the objectionable collection of frost about the upper open end of thecan C and the undue condensing of atmospheric moisture in the opening 22 may be virtually eliminated. It is objectionable to have this moisture run into the can C. It is also desirable that a proper ventilation may beV provided from the refrigerator cabinet B to the outer atmosphere without interfering wth the proper refrigeration within the cabinet B. I have found that my cover accomplishes. this result and seems to provide virtually an indirect circulation from the inner part of the cabinet B to the outer atmosphere. j

In this manner I provide a very desirable cover such as A for refrigerator cabinets, ice

boxes, and other suitable refrigerating means Y where itis desirable to have a cover which may be readily removed from the cabinet to give free access to the contents of the refrigerating cabinet. I have found my cover overcomes the objectionable condensing and sweating of the cabinets where the same is used and that the ice cream is maintained in a better condition than where a tight wooden cover is used as has'been done heretofore.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles of operation of my refrigerator cover and while a peculiar formation and yshape is illustrated, it is evident that reasonable changes may be made and other adaptations may be accomplished within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

. I claim: ,Y

1. A refrigerator cover for ice cream cabinets adapted to close the opening directly above the ice cream cans` including, a sealing flange, a depending portion adapted to receive a moisture absorbing substance, aperforated bottom portion to maintain the moisture absorbingsubstance within said cover, an upper portion having perforations therein, and a cap for closing the same.

l2. A cover adapted to provide indirect ventilation to a refrigerating cabinet including,-

a compartment for receiving moisture absorbing material, a perforated inner surface upon which said moisture absorbing material is adapted to rest, and an upper-body portion extending above the moisture absorbing material having openings to the outer atmosphere.

3. A cover for ice cream cabinets including,a cylindrical bottom portion, an outwardly flaring flange portion, a frustro-conical body portion above said cylindrical portion, a cap forthe top of said cover adapted to close the same, a finely perforated inner portion, and perforations formed in said frustro-conical portion to provide Ventilating openings .to the top of said cover.

el. A cover for refrigerator cabinets including, a body portion, an inner chamber formed in said body portion, a cap for said body portion adapted to close said chamber, and openings in said cover to permit indirect ventilation through said cover when the moisture absorbing substance is maintained within the same to overcome condensation of moisture and frost about the opening `of the refrigerator cabinet. 1

' 5. A refrigerator cabinet cover including, a body portion of a hollow nature, a finely perforated bottom portion, anupper portion having perforations therein, and an opening for receiving a moisture absorbing substance which is adapted to be maintained across the bottom thereof to provide an absorbent sealing means which will absorb the superfluous moisture within an ice cream cabinet and to permit evaporation of the moisture collected cylindrical portion 'extending below said thereby through the openings in the top of flange, av nelyperforated bottom portion, said cover. v f c va' coarsely perforated upper portion, and a 10 6. A refrigerator cover including, "a coniycap for closing the vtop thereof` to permit ay 5 cal formation of the bodythereof, an inner moisture absorbing substance to be main'- chamber formed therein, a conical dependtained until renewed in said chamber. ing annular flange extending thereabout, u LOUIS G.RATTERMA N. 

